Psalm 105:1-15

1 Give thanks to the Lord and proclaim his greatness. Let the whole world know what he has done.
2 Sing to him; yes, sing his praises. Tell everyone about his wonderful deeds.
3 Exult in his holy name; rejoice, you who worship the Lord.
4 Search for the Lord and for his strength; continually seek him.
5 Remember the wonders he has performed, his miracles, and the rulings he has given,
6 you children of his servant Abraham, you descendants of Jacob, his chosen ones.
7 He is the Lord our God. His justice is seen throughout the land.
8 He always stands by his covenant— the commitment he made to a thousand generations.
9 This is the covenant he made with Abraham and the oath he swore to Isaac.
10 He confirmed it to Jacob as a decree, and to the people of Israel as a never-ending covenant:
11 “I will give you the land of Canaan as your special possession.”
12 He said this when they were few in number, a tiny group of strangers in Canaan.
13 They wandered from nation to nation, from one kingdom to another.
14 Yet he did not let anyone oppress them. He warned kings on their behalf:
15 “Do not touch my chosen people, and do not hurt my prophets.”

"A thousand generations..."

Yup...that's what David says about God. " He always stands by his covenant— the commitment he made to a thousand generations.This is the covenant he made with Abraham and the oath he swore to Isaac. He confirmed it to Jacob as a decree, and to the people of Israel as a never-ending covenant." The first fifteen verses of This psalm were penned by David, and sung at the time when the ark was brought from the house of Obededom to the place which David had prepared for it. We could suggest that David's ecstatic joy led him to hyperbole..

Hmmm. Possibly a figure of speech, but at least a very long time. We are told By Matthew and Luke there were 14 generations between Abraham and King David...and somewhere between 33 and 43 generations between David and Jesus (depending on who we include). So, we have 50-55 generations covering a span of 2,000 years.

Let's say somewhere around 40 years per generation on average. Fortunately we don't have to count Methuselah (969 years). That throws everything off. At that rate, a thousand generations is over 40,000 years. We've used up about 4,000 years so we can figure God will be faithful for another 36,000 years. I can live with that.

OK, let's be conservative. Since Jesus, generations have averaged closer to 2o years. So, we've used up about 100 generations since Jesus. 850 generations to go...gives us around another 17,000 years we can count on God's faithfulness. Even that's longer than I need.

Of course, you can see how silly it seems to reduce God's Word to simple math. However, it should not escape our attention that God has promised to be faithful to His people for far longer than they will need it.

I see a very important lesson in this. When we sterilize God's word by making it about the words on the page...we do two things. First, we don't allow God to be anything greater than what the words say. Second, we get focused on the the meanings of the words and don't pay attention to what they say.

In this case...what do the words say? "Do not touch my chosen people, and do not hurt my prophets.” I need to ask you this question. What gives you the most peace? The knowledge that God's going to hang in there another 17,000 years? Or the assurance that nobody can touch you without incurring the wrath of God?

The first option is a problem. The moment things get difficult we have to wonder if we counted wrong. The second option is more to my liking. When somebody abuses me I don't lose my confidence. I simply remind myself "somebody is gonna pay for this!"

I know what keeps Israel going...

I am not suggesting we shouldn't understand God's word as literally as possible. I work hard at being faithful to the text. I am, however, encouraging us to be careful...or we'll miss the beautiful forest in front of us because we got distracted by the trees.

Live boldly out there today...